Tuesday, April 04, 2017

Cat Tales

I hate to slam a local business but I will no longer be using Dayton South
Veterinary Clinic located at 3200 Wilmington Pike Kettering, Ohio
45429 or the services of Dr. Daniel T. Brauer.

On February 20, 2017 the wife took one
of our cats, Hunter, to the local Emergency Vet because she was
constipated and had not had a bowel movement for several days. They
did some tests and a day later we were able to take her home and were
$1,290.96 poorer. The working diagnosis was as follows; Obstipation:
large stool that is hard and not able to pass. Dehydration. Urinary
tract infection with bacteria. Early kidney compromise with mild
elevation of kidney value and arthritis where the back meets the
pelvis. BTW, this cat is 18 years old. We came home with some
antibiotics and a 10 day supply of Lactulose which is a prescription
laxative. We scheduled an appointment for her to visit with our
regular vet at the above mentioned clinic on March 1st.
They kept her for three days and did a series of tests focusing on
the kidney issue and the bill for this ended up being another $1,390 because of some special diet food. Some of
those charges for medication and treatment could probably be disputed.

There is a $24.00 charge for ear cleaning. A $43.00 charge for
Tresaderm which is used to treat skin disorders. A total charge of
$107.94 for 7 doses of Famotidine which is used to treat ulcers. The
cat was NOT diagnosed with ear problems, dermatitis or ulcers. Did
they really perform these treatments? We will never know.The cat isn't talking and I can no
longer trust this clinic to tell the truth. They sent us home with an
expensive kidney diet that we were told Hunter loved but she actually
wouldn't eat unless we deprived her of her regular food, and an
antibiotic called Baytril that could have nasty side effects that we
were not informed of.

Once home Hunter was happy and acting
normal. We continued giving Lactulose in a smaller dose then held
back about 3 ml of the Lactulose to see if she was fine with the
bowel movements. She could detect the Baytril pills in her food (they smell awful) so we
had to crush them and add some water so we could shoot it into her
mouth with a syringe. Once we learned that a side effect could be
irreversible blindness we stopped the Baytril. We don't need a blind
18 year old cat. On March 30, 2017 we noticed that Hunter was
straining to poop again. She was successful but it appears that
Lactulose would be something she would need for the remainder of her
life. We made an appointment with Dr. Brauer so that we could get a
prescription for the Lactulose. Here is where we began to distrust
his services and question his credibility. He told us the cats ears
were dirty and he could clean them. That was declined. That service
was supposed to have been done 4 weeks earlier. We paid for it. He
then went in the back room, returned and presented me with a 160 ml
bottle of Lactulose. So I pay the bill. It is $180.00. That is $52.00
for the office visit and $128.00 for the 6 oz bottle of laxative that
grants 3 refills that I have since discovered can be bought through
Kroger Pharmacy for $7.00. Online, a 16 oz bottle is around $16.00. Here is what Drugs.com lists for pricing.

Here is what a $128.00 bottle of Lactulose looks like and here is the bill to prove it.

It gets better. The next day I go to
return the bottle for a refund and get a prescription. They will not
take the medicine back and refund my credit card. Dr. Brauer and one of his employees both stated that they can't by law
take back the medicine. That is not true. There is no law that states that he can not do this. He can take it back and refund the money. What he can not legally do is re dispense the medicine. He has to destroy it and in doing so is at a loss. Fine I get it. He is still a liar though. How about charging me $7.00
for the bottle and refund the difference. They won't do that either.
He could offer to sell me the drug for $20 which is still excessive but a more reasonable choice than having me pay $128.00. He didn't. Fine, I will contest the charge with the credit card company and he
can explain to them why he charges 18 X the market rate for his
medicine. He was fine with that idea. I can also file a complaint with the
Better Business Bureau and post a negative review on the clinic
Facebook page. He can explain to the BBB and the 763 fans on Facebook why he charges excessive fees for medication. Now he charges me $10 for the “Outside Pharmacy”
prescription (which he is allowed to do) so I can get the next bottle for $7.00 but circles zero
refills. What a racket. He is willing to prescribe the same
medicine through his pharmacy and charge $128.00 each for up to three
refills but is not willing to prescribe the same for using a regular
pharmacy that charges just $7.00.

As far as I am concerned the credibility of
this business is completely shot and I can no longer trust any of the
staff to tell me the truth. Never take your pet to this place if you
don't wish to be taken advantage of.

Saturday, July 23, 2016

How's That Roof Coming Along?

Here is a series of photos showing current roof progress!

It takes a while to remove four layers of shingle, clean it up. Tar paper a roof and then put metal on it. This was a repair. A major one really so that means I can write the cost off on my Federal income taxes. Next year I can repair the front part of the roof. Some shingles are missing which justifies a repair.
Now I get to clean up and remodel the other house that was destroyed by my former tenant.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

More Roofing Antics (a little late)

It seems that is is raining just about every two days so far this year. This is a problem when you are trying to tear off a roof that has 4 layers of shingle over the original cedar shakes that were put on in 1900. It takes forever because I need to preserve the shake layer as best I can in order to install metal roofing over it. This saves me from having to haul 8' X 4' sheets of plywood onto my roof which weigh far more than the 17' X 3' sheets of metal roofing!

The roof over the walk in attic has leaked ever since we bought the house and based on the damage to the bathroom ceiling, probably had for years. It would also appear that it had leaked in the same area many years before that. The end result being this hole below the gutter line where all the rotten wood shakes just crumbled as I tore of the overlying asphalt shingle.

From inside it looked like this! Culminating in a giant hole where the straps had rotted as well. There had been a previous repair done here.

Here is a view of the rest of the roof on this side of the house. Complete with tarp for the next installment of rain.

And here, in the eaves was where I found a whiskey bottle that was produced between 1905 and 1915. Since it post dates the original 1900 roof, it must have been someones secret stash or a place to hide a bottle that would be found over 100 years later. There was another bottle (you can see it in the photo sitting on the floor) stashed in the floor between the wall. It still contains some moldy liquid but has no dating marks and just has the 1 quart stamp on it. It was placed there after the rock wool insulation was installed.

This side of the attic roof is currently under tar paper. I am now forced to strip the section above this on the main part of the house in order to properly install the metal because there is a valley and a chimney at the junction of the two sections.

I don't know which I hate more, roofing or plumbing.
To be continued ......

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

One Woman's Trash is Another Man's Garbage

If you have been following this blog for many years then you may remember that I tried to sell my original Dayton home in September 2008 when the mortgage crisis struck. I rented it for several years to a friend of ours who bought her own place in 2014. The neighbor saw how attentive I was to fixing problems and wanted to move in since their lease was up. Unfortunately the husband died in June 2015 leaving a widow with three children. I gave money to their funeral fund, put a new roof on the house when the widow expressed an interest in a lease purchase and was very tolerant of sporadic and late rent payments. Things seemed fine until February of this year when payments were infrequent and consistently late. I don't think she was a bad person or vindictive. I do think she got some priorities mixed up. I finally had to evict her. I should have done it sooner. Tenants have more rights than property owners in Ohio. Once the court sides with the landlord, it still takes up to ten days to get possession of your property. This tenant left but she still had possessions in the house which I can not remove until she turns over the keys and grants that right or her time granted by the court expires. She promised me that she would remove all her items. Just like she promised to cut the grass, pay her rent on time and dispose of some trash she had placed in the garage. Well, I have possession now ...... Put on your Dr. Seuss hat and let's investigate my house.

A little bit of trash, alright?

Whoa! Then this. Outta sight!

Didn't pay electric bill. Left all your food. What a thrill!

This floor was once very fair

Now it's ruined, needs some care.

Who wouldn't want a couch like this?

Or this one too? It will be missed

Dog and cat feces, but that isn't all.

Here is some more, in the hall.

In one bedroom on the floor

Look around, you'll see some more.

Would you like poop where you sleep?

Is there more in here? I'll have to sweep.

Let's go up the stairs to see ....

There is more up here. God blessed me.

Go to the basement, take a tour

Where on Earth's the basement floor?

Let's go out the back to see

What this tenant has left for me.

If trash is treasure like they say

I hit the jackpot here today!

Isn't it nice that I can still smile and be humorous when people treat me in the most appalling ways?
I should first add that she lived in this filth with three children for several months and she left two kittens in the house with no food or water and they were very difficult to catch and release with all the trash and furniture in every room. There is also an infestation of fleas and evidence that bed bugs were also present in the house at one time. I found a dead one on my shirt today when I started to bag all the trash.
Today was the first day that I could legally enter the place and begin disposal of her property. So what was on the door to greet me?

You gotta love Dayton City Government again. Back to the same lame bully tactics that made me run for mayor in 2009. Funny how I have no idea what the violation is and that this appears the moment I have possession of my house again. The damage done is going to cost several thousand dollars but this time around I have way more knowledge, experience and the proper tools to make it right again.

Monday, April 25, 2016

The Debacle of the Mud Room

There is what really appears to be an enclosed porch at the back of the house. Helen used to have a clothes dryer back there and a large cupboard on castors. There is also a built in set of cabinets. I have these "before" photos.

I don't think anything major has been done with this room since the 1930s. What's more, the room has no insulation other than some blown in rock wool in the flat part of the ceiling.
Last year I got the wood walls painted flat white but the wife wanted the walls insulated. That meant removing most of the drywall that was installed in a piecemeal manner back in the day. When the drywall was removed it revealed a roof leak that was going to have to be dealt with. Now I don't know which I hate more, roofing or plumbing but I had to deal with the issue.
This roof still has the original cedar shakes under ..... wait for it ..... four layers of shingles! I don't want to have to haul sheets of 8' X 4' plywood up a ladder so I have decided to strip the roof down to the original shakes and put a metal roof over those.
For anyone who cares, on election day I won in a local contested primary to run for county commission. The next day, to celebrate, I started to tear off the roof at the back of the house!

It took two days to get the shingle off and another day to get this far. Then it rained for several days.

Those bags left over from filling the wood pellet stoves sure came in useful this year. On the rainy days I went inside and installed insulation and drywall. Then smoothed out the joints.
As of today the roof now looks like this.

Only now I have to do the next section above the attic room where we have an existing roof leak. So I just need three consecutive days without rain to remove shingles on one half of the roof and install tar paper. These are the special attachments for my boots that I had to buy just so I could stand on the metal roof.

And here is the mudroom before painting the remaining walls and door white.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Almost There!

If you recall, back in January I was stripping wallpaper from the bedroom walls and ceilings leaving the rooms looking like this.

Well, now they look like this!

We need a few more pictures hung on the walls but I am getting there. All the windows in these rooms were replaced with vinyl windows. Besides the energy savings the real reason I needed to replace them was to cut down on the noise since the house sits on a main thoroughfare and the traffic is constant. I even put an old time light in the one closet that needed it.

And to make life easier on the guests, I found these practical pulls for the ceiling fans.

I preserved the writing on the walls from 1939. The one is covered by the diagonal framed picture above the sconce light. The other will be covered by the dresser mirror after I restore the dresser top which was water damaged. The original top was faux grained plywood. I can replace with a piece of Luan board and try my hand at the faux graining or I may just paint it with a fancy pattern. So now I am in clean up mode around the entire house. Most of the things left to do are minor. Such as replace the smoke and CO2 detectors, get the doorbell to work, buy linens for the beds and get a TV for downstairs.Hopefully within two months we can promote "Helen's House" as a unique Air BnB experience. A step back to a simpler time.